


No Mistakes or Coincidences

by agoodtuckering



Series: Doctor Who Oneshots and Stories [25]
Category: Bloodborne (Video Game), Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Adventure, Always together and never apart, Drama, F/M, Love, Love Confessions, Mutual Pining, Romance, This has a major plot twist so enjoy that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-06
Updated: 2018-10-06
Packaged: 2019-07-27 06:10:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16213088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agoodtuckering/pseuds/agoodtuckering
Summary: The TARDIS has taken Clara and the Doctor to Provost Willem's Byrgenwerth, an academic institute from which the Healing Church originated. But why? There must a reason. She always has a reason, for everything she does.





	1. There is a Reason for Everything

**Author's Note:**

> This started as a tiny prompt and turned into something much more. Will probably only have three chapters or so. This is very very very spooky and creepy. Prompt #3: "exploring spooky places".

Sparks were flying and there was smoke hanging like a haze in the Console Room. Clara landed hard on her back and the Doctor landed opposite her, on his stomach. She was lying on her back, reaching out for  _ something  _ to cling to, to hold onto. 

_ “Doctor!” _

He wasn’t moving. He was lying deadly still. A panic immediately set in, worming its way around her heart and constricting her. She felt as if she couldn’t even breathe for a moment.  

Presumably the TARDIS had landed somewhere, in the worst way, and they would need to work on repairs.  _ He  _ would, anyway. Was he alive? 

The TARDIS had  _ crashed.  _ Crash-landed. The ground was hard and unforgiving outside. 

Clara crawled towards the Doctor on her elbows, too achy and injured to fully help herself up quite yet. “Doctor,” she said breathlessly, a hand touching his shoulder. He didn’t even budge and inch, or squirm away from her touch. 

She was comforted only by the steady rise and fall of his back and chest, letting her know that he was, in fact, still breathing. Her fingers moved through his hair, trying to coax him out of unconsciousness. It worked, eventually. He picked his head up, completely dizzy, and cast a dazed look in her direction. 

_ “Clara?  _ Where are we? Where am I?” 

She found herself rubbing his shoulder gently, trying to give him something to focus on, something that would help coax him into the here-and-now. Back to the present, where he belonged, with her. 

Slowly, she explained, “I think we crashed somewhere. We’re on a planet, I think. Are you alright? Can you sit up for me?” He looked so vulnerable this way, with her, and she thought perhaps that she’d never be able to forget the faraway look in his eyes. He was  _ hurt.  _

He sat up with her help and leant back against the staircase in the Console Room, his face contorted in a pained grimace. Slowly but surely, though, he came-to and sat up. His movements were rather gingerly, at best, and she stood up to gather her bearings. 

“We didn’t crash somewhere, Clara,” he began to say. “The TARDIS  _ took us  _ here. I was trying to stop her. In the midst of everything, she was too distracted by my efforts to land us  _ gently  _ on the surface. It’s my fault. I was trying to stop her from bringing us here.” 

Her eyebrows rose at that. Where exactly  _ was  _ here? 

“This is a dark, dark place. She landed us beyond the Forbidden Forest and the Forbidden Grave. I don’t want to be here. I can’t see why, at all, ever, she would think bringing us here would be of any help to anyone on this old planet.” 

Clara looked well and truly terrified now. He was too, and perhaps that’s what chilled her to her very bone as well. It didn’t sit well. “But, Doctor… Where exactly are we? What is this place?”

There was a long pause as he rose to his full height, wandering over to a monitor to look at the screen. “We are at Byrgenwerth,” he said, with some trepidation. He turned to cast a stone-cold look her way, eyes heavy and filled with concern. “I need to let the TARDIS charge herself, a bit, before we can leave. She’s hurt, too, but she won’t let me work on her right now. She wants us out, now. There will be no leaving here for us, any time soon. There must be some reason that she wanted us to be here.  _ To come here.  _ Though, I can’t for the life of me figure out what it must be.” 

He wandered for the doors of the TARDIS, their breaths, his footsteps, and a few sparks being the only sounds in the entire ship. Everything went eerily silent. 

“This place was once a College. It was a research building, in the olden days. It… predates the Healing Church’s existence and their terrifying political power. Be on your guard, Clara. Trust nothing that you see, and run from everything. It isn’t safe for you to stay here while her shields are down. You’ll have to join me. By my side is the safest place you can be.” 

She didn’t know what he was going on about, some church and a college and running from monsters, but she still let him ramble. He would know what to do. He always did. If someone needed their help,  _ they would be there.  _

He opened the doors, both of them, and they were met with a beautiful view. It was dark and they were overlooking a lake. The building, in all its terrifying, decrepit splendor, was nearby. He could feel a breeze ruffling the lapels of his coat and his hair, and for a moment, Clara thought she even saw him shiver. 

He reached into his coat pocket for sonic sunglasses, although he knew they would do little to protect them from the monsters that lay beyond these doors. Nothing could protect them now.

_ “Why did you bring us here, old girl?”  _ he whispered imploringly, beneath his breath, and took a step out of the ship and onto crunchy grass and leaves.  _ Best to get this over with now.  _


	2. It's All Very Real

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor explores the institution with Clara. They stumble across the Library and he makes a very interesting discovery, one that could change their lives forever, or at least their course of Destiny. Sometimes, on a very good day, if a miracle happens, even Fate can be avoided.

She followed after him towards the institution, clutching his hand in hers for a feeling of safety. Whenever she touched him, she felt safer, warmer. She needed it now more than ever before. She didn’t have a clue what he was talking about, rambling about this place, but she was _afraid._ It was a very rare feeling with her these days. She was often _too brave._

There was a guard standing by. He murmured something, _a password,_ the sacred adage of the Grand Cathedral, and the door opened for them, to allow them passage inside. He clearly knew what he was doing. _‘Fear the old blood,’_ she thought he had said, but it was so quick and soft that she almost missed it. She very well might have.

The man let them pass, although his eyes were watching them skeptically.

“This place is a sacred one. It was where the study of human transcendence began,” he explained slowly. “Higher learning, eccentric teachings, and some of the best-kept secrets were all here. All of it.”

He turned to cast a look down towards Clara, wondering if she was even listening. He continued, “They had knowledge of the Cosmos here. They believe in these beings called _The Great Ones._ Oh yes. This planet was once beautiful. Now there is only darkness. We have, ourselves, delved into the darkness by coming here."

She shivered as they stepped inside. It was quiet, of course, and a few rats went running past.

“The Choir, here, Clara, are the higher members of the Healing Church,” he said slowly, and turned towards her once they were alone in the hall.

He gently pressed his hands to her temples, slowly flowing knowledge _into her._ It was, truly, better than butting heads with her as he once had, so long ago, to teach Craig Owens about his past and to explain just who he was. He was so much younger then, his eleventh self, and he barely understood what had happened between _then_ and _now._ So many years had passed him by. How was that possible? Life flew by. It _hurt,_ those memories. They always would.

“Concentrate,” he told Clara, slowly. He showed her Yharnam’s story, a towering, labyrinthine gothic city, home to both the Healing Church and the Blood Ministrations, given to humans, and who and what Hunters were. He showed her how they hunted beasts, how they sought to learn more about the Church and its history, and to purge the world of death and darkness. This place was _sacred_ to them.

She touched his forearms with her hands, gasping softly. It was too much. Too much, _too soon._ All at once, her mind was flooded with images. They were horrific, the creatures, and she couldn’t bear to think of how terrible Hunters lives were, once they gave their lives and souls to the cause. To saving. To helping. To _killing._

“Doctor,” she gasped, and he eventually let her go. He was still standing close to her, though, and she let her lashes flutter rapidly. She fought to catch her breath, looking up at him in wide wonder. “How do you know all this?” Her hands were placed on his chest, where they’d come to rest as he was opening his mind to hers, and she let them fall away with a mildly embarrassed look.

It was a hard question to answer, for him. His head hung for a moment as he searched for the right words. “I’ve been here before,” he said, slowly, thoughtfully. “I knew someone who became a Hunter once.”

Together, they walked the long, dark halls, occasionally passing candles and open doors to scholars rooms. All the while he wondered why the TARDIS had brought them here. Then, there it was. The library doors opened to them.

His eyes were drawn to a book on a shelf. It was resting beside a few scrolls. It read: _The Dark Shade of a Quantum and How to Reverse It._ In that moment, it was as if all air had been knocked from his very lungs. He couldn’t breathe.

“What’s wrong?” Clara asked, taking note of his obvious bewilderment. His eyebrows were all over the place, along with his expression, and she found herself stepping closer to him and once again placing his hand in hers.

“It’s… nothing,” he heard himself say, walking towards the shelf and running a long index finger along the spine of the book. She simply stood there and watched him, her eyes dropping to watch his hand move. She wished, _only in the deepest places of her heart,_ that he would touch her that way.

“Remembering backwards,” he mumbled quietly to himself. “It’s a curse. It’s all jumbled up. My past and my future and my present. I forget things, and I remember things I haven’t experienced yet. But this… A Quantum Shade… I know I’ve seen one somewhere before, that we’ve crossed paths. It’s important. The memory’s on the tip of my tongue. Or perhaps it isn’t a memory at all. Perhaps it’s still to come for me yet. What am I missing?”

And then it occurred to him: the TARDIS had sent him here for _this._ He needed this. He didn’t know how or why yet, but he did. It would only be held deep within the bowels of the Library here, tucked away and hidden by the scholars. He flicked through the dusty, dingy pages, all yellowed with age, and slowly closed it again.

Clara was still watching him. He noticed only too late.

“What’s wrong?” she asked again, just as she had moments before. “Please tell me what it is. I can’t help you if you won’t open up to me.”

It was the most honest, open thing she had ever said to him. He couldn’t even respond, though. There were no words for what he was feeling and for what he wanted to tell her. _He was going to lose her._ He understood that, but perhaps this book would stop that from happening.

_He couldn’t tell her._


	3. Trust and Protection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Together, the Doctor and Clara leave Byrgenwerth. But after leaving the institution's guarded walls, something comes for them. Will they make it safely back to the TARDIS?

“You’re keeping something from me, Doctor. Don’t pretend that you aren’t. I know you better than you realize. What’s that book you’re holding? Is it important? If the TARDIS sent us here for it, I’m sure it is.”

When he turned towards her, he found her eyes practically scrutinizing him. She left no room for lies, no room for skirting the truth. He felt _small._

“We’re leaving,” he simply said to her, his opposite hand tucked in his plaid trouser pocket. Then, softer, “I need this book. Or rather, I suppose I will be needing it. It’s very important. Now, please, stay close to me. We’re leaving this place to head back towards the TARDIS. Who knows what lurks in the dark, waiting for us. We need to be quick.”

He bid the guardsman a good night at the entrance, leaving hastily and tugging Clara along with him. Right out the front door they went, and down past the gate to leave. He pulled his sonic specks on, surveying the area. _No lifeforms,_ it read in Gallifreyan scripture along the sides of his lenses.

She sighed wearily to herself and reached out for his arm. She needed something to hold on to, in the dark. Just for tonight.

He guided them back towards his blue box, obviously using the sonic glasses to do so. She could hardly see a single thing, save for the shimmer of the water and the moon above it, casting a pale, silvery-blue light across the surface. It looked like crystal, smooth and unwavering. Like pure, beautiful glass.

“This place was once so breathtaking,” he said softly, “before the Healing Church came to be. Before the Blood. But, like all beautiful things, things filled with hope, dark deeds can only win over in the end… The _few_ ruin such wonderful things for the _many._ It’s tragic.”

_Such was life._

Out of the dark, taking them by surprise, a creature rose up. It looked like a werewolf, all snarling fangs and ripped, torn skin and fur. Clara screamed in terror, something she found that she couldn’t help, and the Doctor tugged her along.

Together, _they ran._

“C’mon,” he yelled to her frantically. “The TARDIS is just over there. We only have to make it to her.” As they sprinted along, their feet crunching on the hard, cold ground and the leaves that littered along its surface, he fumbled in his pockets for the key to his box.

Clara reached out to grab hold of his coattail as they jogged alongside one another, both winded and breathless. The air was thick, the scent of blood heavy in their noses. It was _putrid._ Still, they dashed along together. Gulping for air, she asked, “Why didn’t you know that creature was so close? Why didn’t the sonic pick up its presence?”

 _Good question._ He wondered, too.

He slammed into the TARDIS doors suddenly, hands flying out to stop him. Without meaning to, he had dropped the key. His old girl was _far closer_ than he’d first anticipated. Perhaps their feet were carrying them faster than he’d thought.

“They’ve evolved since the last time I was here. Since the last time I was in Yharnam,” he yelled to her. Then he added, “Clara, quick. Help me find the key. I dropped it and I can’t see a thing.”  
  
There were heavy footsteps behind them, running, falling, and catching themselves. It was the bloodied werewolf’s body. He was coming for them. He’d caught their scent again. Again, the stench of death was in the air. Admittedly, it made Clara gag.

The Doctor searched around frantically and wound up pulling something from his pocket. “Is that a torch?” Clara asked, snatching it from his fingers, and despite her trembling hands, managed to click on the power. Still, he couldn’t find the key, even with a bit of light to help guide him.

Was this a situation they weren’t going to find themselves getting out of? Was this it? Was this the end? He didn’t want to die, nor did he _ever_ want to lose her.

A loud roar stilled their movements, chilling them to the very bone. Slowly, they both turned to see the wolf standing on its hind legs behind them. The torch’s light was in the creature’s face, nearly blinding him. _Light._ They weren’t used to light, anymore. Only darkness. _Only ever darkness._

_This world saw no light._

As the creature came for them, the Doctor stepped in front of Clara. “Get ready to run,” he told her fearlessly, despite the feeling in his clenched stomach. He was _terrified._ But he’d always protect her.

He realized something this evening, with her. In finding the book, he’d learned what _really mattered._ She mattered. Her precious life mattered more than anything. Even more than his own.

“Doctor!” she screamed. “What are you doing? Don’t you dare!”

His back was turned to her as he faced down the beast. She thought, in that moment, she’d never seen anyone larger than life compared to him. He was the very _meaning_ of courage in that moment. And because his back was turned to her, because he was facing away, he missed her _finally_ finding the key in the grass. She’d continued rummaging about after he’d stopped looking. She never gave up.

Triumphantly, she pushed the key into its lock. It clicked and the door went falling open. She had barely enough time to yank the Doctor inside with her when the beast attacked. It went head-first into the closed, safe doors of the TARDIS, though. They were _inside,_ and it was _outside._

“How did you…?”

His question was met only by her pointed glare and her arms wrapping ferociously around his thin frame. Her embrace was tight and long and she refused to let him go. _“Doctor,”_ she murmured softly, grateful to hear the sound of him dropping the lit torch and the book to hold her in return.

“You’re alright now,” he reassured her, a hand gently touching the back of her head. No matter how hard tried, though, all she could see were the beast’s own, empty eyes and the blood. There was _so much blood._ It was positively terrifying.

Soothingly, he brushed his fingers through her hair and told her, “Those creatures… They’re the reason Hunters exist. To fight them. To _stop_ them. Because someone must, and they willingly take on the duty to save their world, even as doomed as it is in the eyes of others.”

She drew away with tears in her eyes. A beat or two passed them by where they simply looked at one another. His gaze held her own unflinchingly.

After a while, quietly, she said, “You stepped in front of me. You were going to protect me. That _thing_ would have torn you to pieces and you were more than willing to die for me. You stupid old man.” Her last few words, for as hard as she tried to make them sound angry, came out affectionately.

She was _grateful._

He watched as she bent down to reach for the torch. She flicked the switch off and then snatched up the book as well, both of which she set down on the console gently. “Right… Where to now, then? We can’t just sit here all day. That wolf creature’s still out there. We need to go.”  
  
He stepped around Clara, flicking levers and switches and priming the navigation controls. She was right. They _had_ to leave. It wasn’t safe here, not by any means.

His eyes met hers a moment or so later, however, and he simply said, “I would go to the ends of the Universe for you, Clara Oswald. I would fight Time itself to keep you by my side. Do you really think a _werewolf_ scares me?”

Her jaw fell open briefly but she didn’t speak. She couldn’t. She only watched him fly the TARDIS, sending them off into the vortex. He had TARDIS repairs to attend to soon enough. The old girl was rather worse for wear at the moment.

“I’m sorry, old girl,” said he apologetically, to his dear TARDIS, a hand tenderly stroking the console panel as he stared up at the rotor. “You were taking me where I _needed to be._ I understand that now, and I’m sorry.”

_The book._

_He could save Clara, even if he didn’t understand what all of it meant yet._

_One day, he would._

Until then, he turned towards his impossible girl and sighed softly. “Stop looking at me that way,” he warned her, although there was nothing behind the threat. He was harmless as could be. “Honestly, how do your eyes even do that?” he asked. “I can hardly stand it. Your eyes inflate like balloons.”

That was the moment it all changed. As he ranted, she realized _just how much_ she didn’t care about the consequences. She had nearly lost him. It was far too close for comfort. Throwing all caution to the proverbial wind, she stepped closer and took his face in her hands.

“I love you too,” she said softly, reaching up on tiptoes and pressing her lips to his. It was a soft kiss at first, but then she felt him slowly begin to return it. His lips moved against hers effortlessly. He was stiff with surprise, but as she drew him closer and wound her arms around his neck, he began to melt into her touch.

Drawing away for a soft wheezing breath, panting now, he whispered to her, “I never said I love you. Did I?” That's important. He'd remember saying that. He was sure he didn't. Or did he? He couldn’t remember now. Everything felt like a blur.

She laughed against his lips, her fears from earlier slowly beginning to fade away. All that mattered right now was him, _them,_ and _this moment._ He wasn’t pushing her away in disgust. He wanted her closer.

“You didn’t have to,” she explained for him as her fingers smoothed over his hoodie and the t-shirt beneath it. “I’d take on the entire Universe for you too, Doctor. I hope you know that. Now let's go home, back to my flat. I'll make us a soufflé for dinner. I need something to do. And you can work on the TARDIS."

_Love was far too little a word to encompass what they felt for one another, but it would have to do for now._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this story, guys. x


End file.
